The Natural Communities of Virginia
Classification of Ecological Community Groups
SECOND APPROXIMATION (Version 2.2)
Central Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forests
These mixed hardwood forests are prevalent at high elevations (>900 m [3,000 ft]) of Allegheny Mountain in Highland County, with small-patch outliers occurring on north-facing slopes over 1,070 m (3,500 ft) in the Blue Ridge, Ridge and Valley, and Cumberland Mountains, south to Tazewell, Russell, and Wise Counties. Forests of this group are more common northward in the high Allegheny Mountains to the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau of northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. In Virginia, sugar maple (
Acer saccharum var. saccharum), black cherry (
Prunus serotina var. serotina), northern red oak (
Quercus rubra), red maple (
Acer rubrum), and sweet birch (
Betula lenta) are the most abundant overstory trees, while American beech (
Fagus grandifolia), yellow birch (
Betula alleghaniensis), and eastern hemlock (
Tsuga canadensis) are less frequent co-dominants. Overstory composition varies occasionally to nearly pure sugar maple. Striped maple (
Acer pensylvanicum), mountain maple (
Acer spicatum), and mountain holly (
Ilex montana) are the chief understory species, along with sapling sugar maple and beech. The herb layers of many stands are characterized by patch-dominance of (
Dennstaedtia punctilobula). Other more or less characteristic herbaceous species include whorled aster (
Oclemena acuminata = Aster acuminatus), evergreen wood-fern (
Dryopteris intermedia), tree clubmoss (
Lycopodium dendroideum), stiff clubmoss (
Lycopodium annotinum), tall millet-grass (
Milium effusum), grove bluegrass (
Poa alsodes), northern shorthusk (
Brachyelytrum septentrionale), purple oat-grass (
Schizachne purpurascens), sedges (particularly
Carex appalachica ,
Carex debilis var.
rudgei ,
Carex digitalis ,
Carex leptonervia , and
Carex. woodii ),
eastern twisted-stalk (
Streptopus lanceolatus var. lanceolatus), and sweet white violet (
Viola blanda var. blanda).
The importance of red maple, sweet birch, northern red oak, and especially black cherry in contemporary Virginia examples of this community group reflects secondary succession following catastrophic logging and fire disturbances in the early part of the twentieth century. Sugar maple and beech, both abundant in understory layers and locally co-dominant in the overstory, appear positioned to assume dominance as current secondary stands mature. However, beech-bark disease and excessive deer browsing are serious threats to the future viability of the largest stands on Allegheny Mountain. Communities in this group are similar to those of the Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forests, but have geographically distinct global ranges and separate clearly in quantitative analyses. Moreover, they contain a number of prominent northern species with ranges that do not extend, or barely extend, into the Southern Appalachian region.
In Virginia, several northern songbirds, including the brown creeper (
Certhia americana), mourning warbler (
Oporornis philadelphia), and yellow-bellied sapsucker (
Sphyrapicus varius), breed only in northern hardwood forests.
>References: Adams
et. al . (2003), Coulling and Rawinski (1999), Fleming and Coulling (2001), Fleming and Moorhead (1996), Rawinski
et al . (1996).
Click on the images below to open a larger image in a separate window.
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Central Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest dominated by old yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and
northern red oak (Quercus rubra) at 1200 m (4000 ft) elevation on the northern Blue Ridge. North slope of Apple Orchard Mountain,
Botetourt County (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests).
Photo: Gary P. Fleming. |
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Northern hardwood stand on Allegheny Mountain in Highland County. Dominants are black cherry (Prunus serotina var. serotina), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), and Wood's sedge (Carex woodii ). Laurel Fork area (George Washington and Jefferson National Forests).
Photo: Gary P. Fleming. |
REPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY TYPES:
More than 40 plots of this group have been sampled in Virginia, although some of the classified units
are better supported by plot data than others. Additional sampling is not likely to change the basic concepts of these units.
Click on any highlighted CEGL code below to view the global USNVC description provided by
NatureServe Explorer.
- Betula alleghaniensis – Quercus rubra / Acer ( pensylvanicum , spicatum ) / Dryopteris intermedia – Oclemena acuminata Forest
Central Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest (Yellow Birch – Northern Red Oak Type)
USNVC: =
CEGL008502
Global/State Ranks: G3G4/S3
- Betula lenta / Ilex montana / Lycopodium annotinum Forest
Central Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest (Sweet Birch / Clubmoss Type)
USNVC: = CEGL008503
Global/State Ranks: GNA/SNA
- Fagus grandifolia – Tsuga canadensis / Dryopteris intermedia Forest
Northeastern Beech – Hemlock Forest
USNVC: =
CEGL006088
Global/State Ranks:
G4G5/S1
- Prunus serotina – Acer saccharum – Fagus grandifolia / Carex digitalis – ( Dennstaedtia punctilobula
) Forest
Central Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest (Black Cherry – Sugar Maple Type)
USNVC: = CEGL006045
Global/State Ranks: G4/S2
